Tuesday, July 5, 2016

After a disaster of an attempt to have a day bed made for a then 2 1/2 year old Sadie, I begged and begged Scotty for the custom pink dreamy day bed (above)from a local high end children's store. So when we moved three years ago, the bed was the one thing I didn't even ask to change.

For the last three years every girls sleepover has evicted Cooper from his full size bed and into our king size. We call it The Presson Shuffle.

Cooper's Room Circa 2014 - Haven't Done a Thing to it since.

So in leu of the fact that Sadie's legs pretty much touch the end of the bed we are giving her room a preteen upgrade. She begged for a surprise reveal, but who am I kidding with the summer packed full of camps and vacations, it's going to take a miracle to pull that off.

3. I'm keeping the rattan hour glass side tables (not on the design board but in above pic) and hardwiring sconces above the headboard for late night study sessions to come.I like these from Schoolhouse Electric but haven't committed 100% just yet.

4. We are keeping the black Moroccan rug I imported just for a little bug, West Elm parson's table, vintage rattan chairs, vintage etched Victorian mirror and Ikea bookcase.

Stay Tuned For The Final Reveal, Lesson's Learned and Changes to SHC Branding!

My home designs almost always start with a neutral color palette because I am so ADD that I need to be able to switch things up on the fly. Some new curtains, new pillows and a few accessories and viola a whole new space. This summer I am digging adding a whole new vibe to my sunroom and kitchen style with some over the top Banana Print accessories.

I am 100% my sunroom would be even more divine with a pillow refresh and some more 70's goodness with a few Banana Print Pillows. I am over the top dying for these Palm Beach Pillows from Furbish Studio.

How about these killer outdoor poufs from Etsy shop Square Fox Designs. For under a $100, they are a steal! Any takers on a white washed screened in porch, some fresh outdoor white curtains and a few of these for some extra seating and design goodness.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Moments of clarity always come to me when I am the least likely to be open to it. Last September 10th, on my way to West Point for the last of many funerals, and after delayed flights and a car rental experience from hell, I found myself stuck on the Major Deegan Expressway at rush hour. Starving and exhausted, I looked up from a dead standstill to see a billboard sign hidden in the dark sky, one word in bold type, GRATTITUDE. Misspelled (like every word I spell) with an extra T and a backwards E, I couldn't help but smile at the irony.

Gratitude: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation and kindness.

How is it that such a simple word with such a clear definition, can be so hard to practice in my own life. Yet, there it was, my lesson for the day, staring me down from above, so that I couldn't possibly miss it. GRATITUDE. I was grateful that day, to be going to my Great Aunts Skippy's funeral, on of all days 9/11, thankful for her life and her lessons that she left to all that loved her. Practice gratitude everyday, even in the dark and in traffic, and you will find happiness. It's not complicated at all.

As if my Great Aunt Skip would have had it any other way, her funeral was a clear celebration of life, we laughed we smiled, we shared only the good times. Afterwards, we jumped in our cars, drove up and down the Hudson River Parkway and celebrated on the water with great food and wine and basked in the sun light.